Serving up great food since 2001

Polenta and Furikake Crusted Vidalia Onion Rings

It is that magical time of year when Vidalia onions appear in the markets. Yes, even here in Hawaii, home of the Maui Onion (which is almost as sweet) we get Vidalias. I have been making cornmeal crusted onion rings for a long time, but I decided to change it up a little by using Greek yogurt instead of buttermilk to soak my onion rings in and to add Furikake to the Polenta. In this recipe I used a course ground Polenta which added a lot of texture. You could also use stone ground grits for this. Furikake is a Japanese seasoning used to spice up plain rice. I use it for lots of things and love adding it to the panko crumbs when making fish. My favorite Furikake is wasabi, sesame and nori. It ads little pops of flavor in the crust.

Ingredients:

2 cups of Greek Yogurt, thinned with 1/2 cup of milk

4 large Vidalia onions

2 cups coarse polenta

1/2 cup all purpose flour (or rice flour if you are gluten free)

1/4 cup Firikake

plenty of fresh cracked pepper

1 teaspoon of salt

Peanut oil for frying

Method:

Slice onions into thick slices, place the slices in the bowl of yogurt and milk and allow to rest for 30 minutes

Mix all other ingredients except oil in a shallow container

Heat oil to 350

Pull out slices of onion and shake off excess yogurt but allow a bit to remain

Dredge the onion slices in the breading, making sure it adheres to the onion slices

Fry the onions, 6 or so slices at a time for about 3 minutes, draining on a grid.

Serve immediately

I like to make a chipotle mayo for dipping. In a small blender mix 1 cup of mayonnaise with half a can of chipotles. (freeze remaining peppers for another use) Blend till they are combined.

About Devany

Photographer, Chef, Writer.PR Professional. living in the Holy City of Charleston where food is King and life is sweet. With deep roots from LA, Atlanta, Chicago, San Francisco, and Hawaii. I have landed back in the Low Country with a smile and loving every bite of shrimp and grits.